With world music-influenced artists like
Vampire Weekend, Ruby Suns and Panda Bear growing increasingly
popular, eyes were bound to turn to the original sources sometime.
The first stop on this possible widespread acceptance of music
outside the western world is Spain, where Pablo Díaz-Reixa,
also known as El Guincho, has crafted a fully formed fusion of
South American percussion, Tropicalia and Afrobeat that isn't
exactly a traditional world music album, but nonetheless reveals
those artists to have only hinted at cultural exploration.
I wouldn't call it traditional because
of the electronic elements that sneak their way into the mix.
Samples abound, even if they're used for organic purposes. On
"Palmitos Park", I assume the contained audience cheers
and droning harmonies aren't real, but they give the song a real
sense of unadulterated festivity. The dizzying circus sounds of
"Antillas" and "Kalise" get the hips moving
and marimbas shaking, but the base of their beats are creaking
sound effects and looping vocal clips that mesmerize like modern
club music. "Fata Morgana" is submerged in a distant
shimmering haze reminiscent of Animal Collective's "Cuckoo
Cuckoo" and "Buenos Matrimonios Ahi Fuera" is his
very own "Bros" - a shifting soundscape of swirling
psychedelic textures.
But El Guincho's intentions are so much
more direct than Panda Bear's. He is in no way "artsy",
even if the tools he uses suggests so, and unlike Person Pitch,
this isn't a headphones album. His aesthetic is more akin to Dan
Deacon. Feel the playfulness of the percussion, hear the honest
tone of Pablo's cheerful chants and know that his aim is humanistic,
making music for festivals and gatherings where people have an
open enough mind to lose themselves in the sweat and excitement
of his exciting blasts of bliss. Although the album gets exhaustive
and repetitive near the end, you can't help but come back to Alegranza
time and time again, to thrust yourself into El Guincho's miraculous
world of revelry.
What I don't understand is why any culture
would shun these wonderful worldly sounds to the outskirts of
society. If we all more willingly accepted the embrace of community
and joyful celebration that bleeds unashamedly out of much world
music, rather than the mindless self-centered attitude and materialism
of MTV, we might be more prone to avoid conflicts that encourage
the subtle tension pervading our western-world. Yet as much I've
tried to get friends to listen to Alegranza, even those who have
shown to appreciate Americanized ethnicity have responded to El
Guincho with blank stares. Is the language barrier really so hard
to get through? If the stigma against world music and universal
acceptance of its inferiority isn't completely destroyed by the
end of the year, then I'm packing my bags and moving to Spain
or Cuba or something. But until then, I'll be trying to convince
everyone I come into contact with to embrace this album like no
other. (Aron Fischer)
For
fans of: Animal Collective, Panda Bear, The Ruby Suns, The Avalanches,
Os Mutantes, Vampire Weekend
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